A new beginning - POM

“If there is ever a paradise on earth, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here.”

This was the mesmerizing effect that Kashmir had on Mughal emperor Jahangir and this was the same mesmerizing effect that the beauty of NITIE had on me when I arrived here on 13^th June, 2013 with my luggage in tow. Looking at the awestruck expressions of my fellow batch mates I knew they felt the same. Having been born and brought up in Mumbai, I am used to listening to the traffic sounds day in and day out and seeing minimal greenery around me. NITIE with its lush green lawns and a pond of its own situated in the heart of Mumbai city came as a pleasant surprise to me and thoroughly convinced me about why it’s called as ‘God’s Own Campus’.

They say that there are few days in life that we never forget. I would say that it is the first week at NITIE that I would never forget. At the outset we were reminded that NITIE would be celebrating its 50^th Year of establishment this year and we would be known as the ‘Golden Jubilee’ batch. Being part of the 50^th Batch we would be part of grand celebrations at NITIE but it also comes with the expectations that we would work twice as hard too. This hard work started even before the classes could begin. The four days before the classes were to begin were spent in solving numerous case studies bestowed on us to accustom us with long, sleepless nights that were going to follow soon enough. The best parts of these case studies were the high level of ingenuity and ‘jugaad’ everyone came up with in their solutions and the intra-batch interactions which made us comfortable with each other. The icing on the cake was ‘Mumbai Darshan’ journey that was embarked upon by the entire batch, braving the torrential rains, one day before the classes were to begin.

Finally, the dawn emerged where we all rushed to attend the first class of our B-School journey. For me, personally, after three years of corporate life this would mean a dawn of a new life. However, before that we needed to triumph the task of eating the hostel mess breakfast and climbing NITIE’s famous ‘96 steps’. Nevertheless, the first lecture taken by Professor Prasad a.k.a. ‘Dr. Mandi’ totally made it worth it. He brought with him a fresh perspective on learning and innovation. His concepts of ‘Becho Seekho, Seekho Socho, Socho Becho’ and ‘Aaj ki roti aaj hi kamana’ inspired the latent entrepreneurs in all of us.

At NITIE, each class is unique and each faculty is a distinguished member in their area of expertise. It is our privilege to study under such experts. The assignments and case studies given to us by them have already started transforming our thinking from an engineer’s perspective to a manager’s perspective.

It has only been one week but I have started feeling NITIE like a home away from home and am sure many of my peers would be feeling the same. I am proud to be a part of an amazing set of talented individuals that NITIE beckons every year. Special thanks to the senior batch that was always there to quell all our doubts earnestly and patiently and guide us in the right direction. They have surely inspired me to lend a helping hand to the junior batch that will arrive next year and make NITIE even better than it is now, in the coming two years.

We all know life at any B-School is often compared to that of a roller coaster ride. There are zeniths of happiness and deepest of lows to be encountered in these two years. The first week has been just a glimpse of what is in store for us in the coming two years.

As it is so often said ‘It is the journey that matters, not the destination’, looking forward to make this journey as memorable as possible.